The Afghan War is as it has been for the last 10 years, an unmitigated disaster that top officials are forever promising will become a runaway success at some unspecified future date. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to be enough anymore.
That’s because as the Obama Administration’s promised July drawdown date looms, there is growing Congressional disquiet about the out of control costs of continuing the conflict, some $10 billion per month. This was reflected in a recent House vote which saw a demand to end the war in Afghanistan come within just 9 votes of passing.
With more votes on the horizon, the administration is said to be considering following through with the drawdown not so much because the situation on the ground is favorable (whether claiming grim failure or cautious improvement, all officials seem to agree on the need to escalate at all times), but because the costs are simply fueling too much Congressional opposition.
Military officials caution that reducing the number of troops would pose a grave, albeit unspecific threat, and also claim that the reductions wouldn’t necessarily mean meaningful savings in the costly conflict. With the administration on the hook for some $8 billion annually, and basically forever, just to pay for the enormous Afghan Army they insisted on creating, the costs will remain an issue for years to come.
And issue for whom? Most certainly not the MIC much less their Congresswhores. As for we the sheeple, it's understood that we don't count. So, who else is there left to have a problem with this?
But we DO count…every 2/4/6 years the congresswhores (nice) come begging with promises to do what we say we want if we'll only return them to their nice comfy offices on the Hill (as well as the nice comfy perks). And, as usual, we comply and vote them back in – knowing deep down that all we're really doing is bending over and dropping them for our just rewards. I don't think I'm going to play anymore – But that's just this old Curmudgeon's opinion…
I disagree. If nothing else, Bush proved that he who casts the vote doesn't count but he who counts the vote wins. Thank Diebold for that.
Yo Curmudgeon (from yet another cranky old guy), the current electoral scam is "the only game in town". Since we all know that it's rigged and crooked, we don't seem able to reform it, and don't want to play anymore, what say we start a new game, one that focuses (1) on what's important: JOBS, (2) on keeping the game honest: ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE RULE OF LAW, and (3) preventing money and monied interests from subverting the process, and instead conduct the process person-to-person over the internet (ie outside of commercial/corporate media).
http://theaccountabilityparty.wordpress.com/
$120B divided by 111 million income tax payers amounts to nearly $1100 per taxpayer. Don't know about you, but I can think of a million things I'd rather do with my share than have it squandered on the other side of the globe killing Afghans that have nothing to do with terrorism.
Bring the damn troops home!